WRITING WITH OTHERS...FUN OR ANNOYING?

 Hello forest dwellers and welcome to another post by the forest guard : ) 🌱🌲

This week, I will introduce you to an amazing technique we can use in teaching: digital collaborative writing.

But before I give my two cents, let me tell you about what we did for our assignment.

We had two options and we chose to write a film review together. Me, Elif Duru Azaklı and Badia Berrag worked together. For our review, we chose The Truman Show as we all love it.

Truman Show Trailer

 

We divided the sections amongst eachother. Then we wrote our feelings and analyzed the film. Lastly, we added some hyperlinks and pictures. 

Our friends Alper, Emircan and Abdalhamed also gave us feedback and that was very helpful.

I think digital collaborative writing is very helpful. It helps to acquire coordination skills, creativity, planning and so on. Not to mention we have to socialize a lot so we end up producing lots of English output. I would most certainly utilize this tool for my ELT classes.

Well, what do you think, forest dweller? Do you think this is an useful tool or unnecessary? I'm curious about your thoughts.

Oh and dont forget to read our review! Feel free to share your thoughts on the movie with us. 🌱🌲🌸

 

THE WORLD OF DIGI STORIES

 Welcome back to the forest, forest dwellers!🍀🌱

I know it's been quite a while since I last posted...Well, we had some projects and midterms and so I was veryy busy. However I'm back with a huge assignment!

Our goal with this assignment was to create a digital storytelling video. We had to choose between a PSA, a "how-to" and an original fiction story. We chose fiction story in the end.

We had to do a lot of stuff! I worked with my friends Elif Duru Azaklı and Badia Berrag.

First, we wrote the script of our story. We decided on a more lighthearted tone this time. (If you remember our podcast, it was quite creepy until the end!) We wrote a comedic superhero story, but I won't give you details and spoil you : D

Next, we decided on a site to make our story. We chose Pixton because it had a lot of options for the characters and backgrounds. We made our comic.

After that, we recorded our voices and also added some background music and sound effects. We made a video for our story. 

I think our end result turned out pretty great! We did have some troubles such as Pixton not allowing free downloads, but we got around them. (No one said we can't screenshot! Don't tell Pixton though.) The hardest part was getting everything together in a video.

As for the education implications for this assignment, I believe it teaches us a lot. It would be beneficial for ELT classrooms because it teaches digital literacy, involves higher skills like creation, and also involves both visual and oral input for the students. And if they create their own stories, they can improve in a variety of ways.

What's a digital story you love? Or do you not watch them? Feel free to write your thoughts on a leaf and bring it to the forest.

But before you go, check out our full work below:

   I'll see you later, forest dwellers!🌲🌱